As one of the most popular messengers in the world, WhatsApp is pretty exemplary when it comes to supporting devices – after all, it doesn’t want to alienate customers with strict support guidelines and send them to competitors. Previously, WhatsApp supported iPhones starting with iOS 12.
However, WA Beta Info is now reporting that WhatsApp will discontinue support for certain iPhones from 5 May 2025. Specifically, this concerns devices running on the aforementioned iOS 12, which was released in 2018.
The models affected are the iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The iPhone 5S was released in 2013 and is therefore 11 years old, while the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are a year younger. If you own one of these devices, you’ll only have five months left to upgrade to a newer device to keep using WhatsApp. For newer iPhones, an iOS update will suffice for now.
Apple released the last security update for iOS 12 in January 2023 – iOS 12.5.7. That was the end of the line. For this reason alone, you should update to the latest iOS version to ensure your phone is protected and runs smoothly.
According to WA Beta Info, the new minimum requirement for WhatsApp from May 2025 will be iOS 15.1. This version will run on all devices from the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus from 2015, which will be ten years old in Autumn 2025.
If you want to upgrade, here are the best prices on the iPhone 16 at the time of writing:
This article originally appeared on our sister publication Macwelt and was translated and adapted from German.
Author: Eugen Wegmann, Staff Writer, Macwelt
Eugen Wegmann has been writing for German sister site Macwelt since 2022 (previously for TechRadar). He wasn't always an Apple fan and looks at its products and antics with a healthy dose of skepticism, but also curiosity and optimism. In his private life, he still relies on Windows (because Apple is taking its time expanding the gaming platform). He has also been a fan of wireless in-ear headphones from the very beginning, and has tested dozens of models over the years.